Only Until Dec. 20th: Soul Bowls Pop-Up at The Bookworm

Meet James and Dave (photo below). These are the guys I’ve heard so much about this past year and it’s an absolute pleasure to finally have the chance to officially introduce them both to you and all my lovely, insatiable LDS foodies.

Though many of you may know James and Dave from their last pop-up Buena Onda in China Central Place (huamao in Dawanglu), you’re all going to find out about their newest project called Soul Bowls in The Bookworm.

Most of you will naturally ask about the food first, but hold your horses people! I apologize in advance for keeping you in suspense but I think it’s important to put the food into context by first introducing you to the talented people behind the food – James and Dave. Both from totally different backgrounds, they were matched together by mutual people with a vision, a vision to fill a niche in Beijing.

As the seasons change, so do the needs of Beijing’s foodie community and thus arises a chance to play with different F&B concepts by hosting creative pop-ups around town. Previously known as the Buena Onda guys, they’re currently the Soul Bowl guys and while I’m gutted to have missed tasting their ceviche this summer, and can’t seem to get enough of their Moroccan Me and Mexicalicious Bowls now, I hope to share some insight into their stories and background so that we can be a part of their grand and glorious plans for 2016.

Meet James Johnson (L) + Dave Ball (R)

LDS 1-on-2 with James & Dave:

LDS: Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves – where you’re from, the food you grew up eating, what gets you up and running every morning?

Dave: I’m from Wellington, New Zealand. I grew up trying and eating everything I could get my hands on. My favourites were some of my mum’s home cooked meals, especially her lasagne, something I’m missing a lot now!

JJ: I was born the UK, however have spent most of my life abroad, living in Singapore and Dubai. I was never that adventurous when I first moved out to Singapore, however it didn’t take too long for me to discover just how much amazing food is to be had in Singapore, from the likes of sambal stingray and laksa, through to char siew pork, savoury carrot cake and roti prata. Whenever back in Dubai, I can’t help but make my first stop off the plane be Al Reef Lebanese Bakery, their manakesh is unreal.

LDS: What’s your China story?

Dave: Our directors, Stew and Alex, have been in China collectively for over twelve years. ​Alex gave me a call one day and the next thing I knew I was on a plane. I have been in Beijing 8 months. I came over to manage Food Operations for Buena Onda. I got settled in and working pretty quickly, and everything has escalated since then.

JJ: I’ve only been here for about 4 months after leaving my office job in London back in July. My brother has been living in Beijing for quite a while so have been back and forth a few times to see him, but when he told me about their plans to set up a pop-up F&B business I pretty much quit my job on the spot.

LDS: Since you’ve been in Beijing this year, you’ve already created two very different and equally unique F&B pop-up concepts – Buena Onda in China Central Place and Soul Bowls currently in The Bookworm, Sanlitun. Can you briefly introduce both concepts and why you decided to switch things up with Soul Bowls rather than keep the Buena Onda thing going?

Dave: We are into testing new concepts, mixing things up and seeing what the Beijing food scene is about and what it’s after. To move from one pop-up to another, with a whole different idea, is one way we can see what’s working and what’s not.

JJ: Buena Onda was designed as a cevicheria and pisco bar, catering to the office complex at Huamao, which lacked a good post-work watering hole. Soul Bowls on the other hand is focused on simple, healthy and hearty food that can be had for breakfast, brunch and lunch. We’re keen to continue bringing the world’s flavours to Beijing, and by utilising the pop-up model we have the flexibility to test new concepts before ultimately launching them as full-scale restaurants.

Buena Onda in Hua Mao/China Central Place

LDS: Where did you get your inspiration for both concepts?

JJ: Buena Onda was born out of a pisco-fuelled conversation between our partners, Alex, Stew and Juan about the lack of ceviche and good South American fare in Beijing. One thing led to another and before long we were popping up in Café Flat White’s shipping container in Huamao.

Pisco Sours

Dave: We have many different minds put together so the ideas come up between us all. The idea of Soul Bowls started from a concept in Bali. Smoothie bowls that are healthy, fun, delicious and make you feel good. We couldn’t find anything like it in Beijing and thought the idea of being able to get a healthy lunch on-the-go would work well here.

LDS: How long did Buena Onda last for and what was the feedback you received overall?

JJ: Buena Onda lasted for just over 5 months, making the most of the warm summer months with the predominantly outdoor space we had. Cafe Flat White ​were super flexible too and we must make a big shout out to Michael Hong Fu and his awesome team – they definitely serve some of Beijing’s best coffee. Thanks to all of this, ​Buena Onda was a lot fun and we received great feedback so we’re very much looking forward to popping it back up again in due course!

Buena Onda Pop-Up in Huamao

LDS: If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?

​Both: I’m not sur​e if there’s anything we’d do differently. We feel we are just getting started and have some big plans around the corner. We’re having a lot of fun.

LDS: Is there any connection between the two pop-ups? If so, why or why not?​

Both: from a brand and menu perspective the pop-ups are rather different. As we scale we are focusing on building processes and operational systems that help our location partners and allow us to manage multiple locations. We are also rotating our team members between the pop-ups to help our team learn and hone different menus and skills (particularly our chefs in the kitchen!). We also focus on the principle of ‘never forgetting your roots’ and aim to bring along our partners in our pop-up journey. For example, we are serving Cafe Flat White’s Rickshaw Roasters at Soul Bowls and used Taco Bar nachos at Buena Onda, and everyone has been really positive about the open platform partnerships. Potentially, we could try position some of Bookworm’s library at our future locations! Building this type of community is really important to us, and it’s encouraging to see how many people are interested and keen to be part of it.

LDS: How did you decide to host your pop-up in The Bookworm this time around?

JJ: A mutual friend of one of our directors introduced us with The Bookworm partners. We quickly hit it off and realised there was a great collaboration opportunity for a pop-up at the Bookworm under the shared theme of ‘healthy minds healthy bodies’.

Soul Bowls Takes Over the Bookworm Everyday From 8AM-2PM

LDS: Can you explain the Hawaiian table cloths and orchid decor?

JJ: With the idea being visualised whilst on a beach in Bali, we thought it’d be fun to try and bring a bit of the tropical warmth indoors during this apocalyptic pollution.

JJ in his Tropical Tee

LDS: Why serve all of your “Soul Bowls” in disposable bowls?

Dave: Soul Bowls does breakfast or lunch that is consciously made to be healthy and really good for you served on biodegradable Mooi plates. Being a pop-up based out of other peoples kitchens, we often don’t have the capacity and storage options for the crockery a normal cafe would hold so we to use Mooi’s versatile, biodegradable disposable products. They aren’t the cheapest but we like the message we send to the market – ditch all the plastic!

LDS: What’s the connection with Cafe Flat White/Rickshaw Roasters?

Both: Our partners have known the guys behind Café Flat White and Rickshaw Roasters for quite a while, so when we were launching Buena Onda, they were kind enough to have us on-board and utilise one of their venues. It was an awesome space and we developed a good working relationship with the Café Flat White team. Café Flat White roasts its own beans under the Rickshaw Roasters’ brand and is easily the best coffee we’ve had in Beijing so it was a no-brainer to include it in the menu.

LDS: What is your favorite thing on the Soul Bowls Menu and why?

Dave: The fresh, tasty Bali Barrel is my favourite, I find it such a good way to start the day, it leaves me feeling full, energised and ready to go. However, if I ever smell the home-cured bacon being fried up I can’t go past without a few bits.

JJ: I’m a big fan of the Mexicalicious with a cheeky poached egg on top. There are few things more satisfying than watching a perfectly runny yolk spill out over the rest of the ingredients. If I’m ever in a rush, however, the home-cured bacon and egg muffin with avocado and chipotle aioli is the go-to option.

LDS: What currently are the top 3 most ordered dishes thus far?

Dave: Mexicalious is by far the most popular so far, followed by the Butcher’s Bowl and the Bacon and Egg Chipotle English Muffin. It’s no surprise the warm dishes are the front runners on these cold Beijing days.

LDS: This pop-up will be running every day until December 20th. What next? New pop-up concept in a different part of town?

Dave: There are a few things due to hatch early next year so watch this space!

JJ: I couldn’t pick just one. Ever since my first trip to Beijing I always had cravings for nangdingchaorou and jianbing’s when back in London, however I’ve only recently come across the amazing, fresh flavours of Yunnan cuisine. Would be a crime to leave lamb leg off the list as well.

Dave: Hands-down, the dan-dan mian from Zhang Mama.

LDS: Top 3 favorite dining/drinking destinations in Beijing?

Dave: Arrow Factory Tap Room & Stuff’d for the good vibes and tasty brews, late lunch in the sun and the beautiful setting of Dali Courtyard with a few brews too, and Zhang Mama – the flavours coming out of their kitchen are so good it is becoming a weekly occurrence.

JJ: I’ve developed a routine of going to Jing-A for a few beers followed by Pingwa Sanbao just south of Sanlitun for a feast of epic roujiamo’s, chuan’r and noodles, meanwhile Bottega’s pizza’s and new gnocchi with slow cooked guanciale are just incredible.

Bottega’s New Pork Gnocchi

From now until December 20th, you can get your fill of Soul Bowls either in The Bookworm or for take-away if you’re in a rush to get to the office in the AM.

Soul Bowls Pop-Up Menu

Between 10 of us, we got to sample most of the dishes on their menu. Highlights were definitely the Mexicalicious, Morocco Me,Butcher’s Bowl (most substantial) and the Bali Barrel Smoothie Bowl (which I saved for dessert) and could happily eat every day for the rest of my life.

You must not expect it, but my favorite thing on their menu is the Sumptin Pumpkin Soup, which is unique to all the sweet pumpkin soups on menus around town. This one is savory, zingy and it’s got a kick! Mixed with roasted tomatoes, ginger and chili, this is the best pumpkin soup I’ve ever had and I plan to get the recipe from Dave as soon as this pop-up wraps up after December 20th. The other green veggie soup is also nice and comforting, but the blue cheese was a bit overwhelming for me. But I’m also not a huge fan of blue cheese in general so maybe that’s just me.

Juices were fantastic – both the Green Zing and Beety we tasted we loved, but the Banana-rama smoothie suffered from perhaps too many ingredients? Not sure exactly what the problem was, but guessing it’s identity crisis of too many flavors and textures mixed into one. Roasted Rickshaw coffees are as popular as ever and they choose to use organic soy milk and wondermilk dairy products.

Overall, everything is very wholesome and delicious. I feel good eating Soul Bowls and the portions leave you surprisingly full. It’s exactly the kind of food I’d want to make for myself at home more often, but with long work hours, it’s tough to plan far enough to cook at home and still eat at a reasonable hour. I’m ecstatic to have not only discovered Soul Bowls, but to have met two very interesting and talented people who know exactly what they’re doing and what Beijing is missing. I’m already eagerly anticipating their next pop-up in 2016!

More Runny Egg Yolk!

Butchers Bowl (RMB 60) + Extra House Cured Organic Bacon (RMB 20)

*Bonus Tip!* They’re selling their own housemade Paleo Granola in bulk! Each container is RMB 50 (see below) and makes for a great afternoon snack or for people who like me who get hangry and rely on a constant source of food to munch on throughout the day.

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